Why visit cartagena

Honestly, La Cevecheria looked so touristy, that we were thrilled to find this gem with amazing ceviche! Make reservations! Thanks to croissantsandcaviar for suggesting this! Thanks to acoffeeandacarryon for suggesting this! So indulge! Epoca Espresso Bar — both locations 2. Reason 4 to visit Cartagena : Luxury accommodations at an almost budget price!

Here, you can stay in one of those delightful houses you adore on the streets — we stayed at Casa Don Sancho by Mustique, a 16th century colonial house with six bedrooms. Reason 5 to visit Cartagena : the pretty streets! Reason 6 to visit Cartagena : to experience a perfectly preserved but living city inside a walkable wall.

Of course, this opened it up to multiple pirate attacks, and so they decided to build a wall around the city. Not as effectively as was hoped — but it does make for a beautiful walk with stunning views of the old city, the new city and the beautiful blue sea.

It gets so so hot in Cartagena, and the sun is very strong. Reason 7 to visit Cartagena : fresh fruits — especially fresh, green unripe mango with salt, lemon called lime in the US and chili powder. Of course, tourists love to photograph them, so now they charge for pictures as well as fruits. Why not capitalize on this?

If you see them in Cartagena, say hi from me! Reason 8 to visit Cartagena : to hang out in Getsemani — declared one of the hippest neighborhoods in the world by Forbes in Videos Beyond Hollywood Hungerlust Pioneers of love.

Cartagena's Palenqueras have become a symbol of the city's distinct cultural blend Photo by Ricardo Gomez Angel on Unsplash. Chris Bell. Incredible food. Unique culture. Beautiful beaches. Art everywhere. Old and new.

Music and dancing. Give us feedback. Read Next View. Hotel Casa San Agustin. Ananda Hotel Boutique. Hotel Boutique Casa del Coliseo. Hotel Bantu By Faranda Boutique. ZiOne Luxury Hotel Cartagena. Casa del Arzobispado Hotel. The basics. Cartagena, like so many places in Latin America, is named for a city in Spain. Locals are known as Cartageneros or Cartageneras in the feminine plural.

The historic center of Cartagena is within the old city walls built by the Spanish between the 16th and 18th centuries. It's called the Ciudad Amurallada -- Walled City -- and it's where the majority of hotels and restaurants are located, in addition to being extremely walkable. If you only have a few days, you're best off staying here. And if you're planning a longer trip, spend the first few days in the walled city getting your bearings before venturing further afield.

The famous Clock Tower is often used to demarcate the boundary of the walled city, as it's above the main Old City Gate.

The narrow spit of land southeast of the walled city is Boca Grande. That's where you'll find many of the upscale hotels and all-inclusive resorts. Now that you're settled, it's time to eat, dance and drink. The highlights. Many of Cartagena's biggest attractions are quite close to each other. You will notice fairly quickly -- especially if you look at postcards of the city -- that many of the most famous buildings in Cartagena are bright yellow.

The Clock Tower is one of them. In addition to being a great example of where to see the old city walls, the Clock Tower's dramatic skyline presence makes it an easy tool to navigate by. Coconut and dulce de leche on offer at a typical Portal de los Dulces stall. Here, vendors -- primarily women, who tack up wooden signs bearing their names above their booths -- set up carts selling local favorites like coconut and panela similar to brown sugar cookies, guava jellies and dulce de leche shaped like coins, hearts or babies.

Most of these come pre-wrapped, making them easy and fun souvenirs or gifts for loved ones back home, and you can usually try samples. Art and architecture. Even if you're not able to see a show, the beautiful pastel Teatro Adolfo Mejia is usually open to explore. Built on the ruins of a church, this gorgeous building now serves as a temple to the arts -- inside, look for a huge fresco of the nine muses, painted by Colombian artist Enrique Grau, on the ceiling.

Nearby, you can also see the former home of the man who is arguably Cartagena's most famous son, the late Nobel Prize-winning author Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Marquez's iconic novel "Love in the Time of Cholera" is set in a lightly fictionalized Cartagena, and there's a Marquez quote painted on the side of his onetime house.

As it's still a private residence, though, you can't go inside. The mural is on the side of the building on Calle 7, next to Hotel Makondo whose name comes from the town where Marquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude" is set. Many of Cartagena's most beautiful buildings are churches. One of the most notable, with a dramatic stone front, is the church of San Pedro Claver.

Originally a church built by Spanish Jesuits in the s, it was renamed for Pedro Peter Claver, who was canonized in Claver was known for providing medical care and food for enslaved Africans brought to Colombia.